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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Cotoneaster Parneyi / Lacteus My Favorite Plant...This Week

Plants that produce ornamental berries, especially if they last through winter, make me go a little weak in the knees so when I saw these big clusters of red berries flirting with me from a table at Willow Tree Gardens on a recent visit, I had to get closer to investigate.

Do you believe in love at first sight? Evergreen leaves, berries that persist through winter, white flowers in summer...I was smitten. No it's not planted yet but is looking lovely in a pot plunked in a bare spot in a bed.

From San Marcos Growers: The name for the genus is derived from the Latin words 'cotone', an old name for the quince plant, and the suffix 'aster' which means "resembling" in reference to this plant looking like a quince. This shrub that has long been used as a large screening plant. Unfortunately it will occasionally reseed and naturalize and is considered to be a weedy species in central and north coast California.

I'm joining Loree at Danger Garden in her favorite plant this week meme.

Oh, don't be silly, it's only bare because the plants in that spot have lost their leaves. The pot can sit there for a while where I can admire the berries from my kitchen window. Don't know where it'll go once sprig rolls around.

I use berries from this plant to decorate every Christmas, because many bushes of them grow on the bike paths along the creek near my house. I always forget the name of the shrub, though, and I happened upon your blog searching through images to find the name. I hope you are enjoying your berries about now!

About Me

Why Outlaw Gardener? I like to break the rules of good taste, plant placement, and plant hardiness. Also, I have received periodic "love notes" from the city code enforcement officer telling me that my parking strip plants encroach on the city's right-of-way. When expressing my distress over the latest such notice, I exclaimed to my pal Loree (Danger Garden) "I'm an outlaw gardener!" To which she replied,"That would be a good name for a blog."
My first gardens were in Southeast Alaska (zone 3.)I do miss the beauty and community of small-town Alaska but I don't take for granted for a moment how wonderful it is to garden in zone 8.